FEC Votes To Treat Political Donations From Same-Sex Married Couples Equally

The Federal Election Commission voted Thursday to treat political donations from married same-sex couples just as it would treat donations from married heterosexual couples, making it one of the first federal entities to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), USA Today reported.

The FEC had issued an advisory ruling in April stating that a same-sex couple belonging to the Massachusetts Republican group Log Cabin Republicans could not donate to Senate candidate Dan Winslow (R-MA) from a joint bank account. In the wake of the Supreme Court's partial striking down of DOMA in June, Winslow and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee asked the FEC to reconsider its opinion, according to USA Today.

The FEC's decision also allows gay candidates for public office to use jointly held assets with their spouses as a source of campaign funding, per the USA Today.